Ramadan Note 1

There are a series of Ramadan messages being published in our local newspaper. I am posting some of them here.

“He who does not give up uttering falsehood and acting according to it, God has no need of his giving up his food and drink.”

:Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Fasting during Ramadan does not just consist of refraining from eating and drinking and marital relations, but from every kind of selfish desire and wrong-doing. It is a time of disciplined self-purification, and reflection, and a renewed focus on spirituality.

Fasting is deprivation, but the benefits of fasting in self-improvement are many. The fasting person develops and strengthens:- self-control to resist wrongful desires and bad habits, self-restraint in curbing one’s appetite, refraining from usurping other’s rights and property, compassion for those with lesser access to basic amenities, and intensifying the consciousness of God in our hearts.